


Not Taken for Granted

by YearnForSomeDay



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Carter gets a puppy, Cat ate the canary, Cat gets herself another kind of puppy, F/F, Fluff, Kara volunteers at the pound, everyone gets what they want
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-15 15:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11809161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YearnForSomeDay/pseuds/YearnForSomeDay
Summary: Cat finally caves when Carter asks for a puppy. When Carter and Cat are at the pound, they find themselves taken aback by both canine and puppy-like human. Carter shows a side of himself that he usually saves only for his mother and Cat is delighted. Cat also asserts dominance in the situation and as usual, gets what she wants in the end. They came for a puppy and leave with not just that but also so much more.





	Not Taken for Granted

Cat Grant was _not_ a dog person, just as anyone could’ve guessed. But _unlike_ what everyone thought, she was not completely heartless – quite the contrary really, when faced with her beloved son, Carter. Especially when said son who never asked for much, looked up at her with his deep blue eyes and pouting expression and expertly used his powers against his defenseless (at the moment) mother, asking for a puppy.

 

So a puppy he got. Make no mistake, Cat knew it was a ruse deliberately set up and desperately used by the young man. However, while she would’ve seen through and pointed it out immediately with anyone else, she felt proud of her son for showing his slyness and exasperated at herself for giving in so quickly.

 

Despite her moaning and groaning, Cat watched as her son met with and petted all of the dogs who were somewhat straggly and slightly underweight but still seemed well-cared for. After Cat had announced her defeat, she’d agreed to Carter’s pleading with one condition – the dog they chose would have to be from a pound rather than a pet shop. Her son’s eyes widened with shock and lit up with happiness and Cat felt arms wrapped around her before she could say another word. She felt her heart swell up with love for this kind boy in her arms.

 

It was all worth it – she told herself when Carter had spent almost two hours at the pound, determined to find the perfect pet that he declared _‘even you would love, Mom!’_ Cat willed herself to stop pacing around for her son. As she thought about what she would have to do at work the following Monday, she was suddenly attacked by a small fuzzy blur dancing around her legs.

 

“Oh! And who might you be?” Cat questioned the small grey puppy that had poked its head between her legs.

 

“Mom! You found one!” Carter zoomed over to her side and crouched down to look at the dog. “Oh, she’s so cute, Mom!” With a hand tentatively reaching out, Carter stared with tender, wide eyes into the puppy’s who had a matching expression on its face. Cat slowly bent down as well, and tried not to move her legs as to not alarm the grey ball of fur. She glanced down at her son who had gotten the puppy to sniff at his hand and then lick it gently.

 

Carter didn’t have to say a word because when he looked up at his mother with eyes full of wonder, she knew that this would be the one. Before Cat could give her say, another head – this time adorned with long golden locks – plopped itself next to her son. Cat stood there with her mouth open and stared at the top of that head – which came with a body, mind you – for it wasn’t an easy feat to shock her.

 

The young woman with glasses askew and a friendly grin turned to smile at Carter and said, “Hi! I see you’ve met Cat!”

 

Again, Cat was stunned into silence. Cat? This furry little creature shared her name? This creature that definitely was _not_ a cat? Seriously? And who was this? Who was this young woman with the lovely smile, hideous clothes that somehow worked on her and seemingly kind exterior that shone so brightly? _And why hadn’t this girl looked at her yet?_

“Cat?” She heard her son laugh with an exuberance he usually reserved only with his mother and a few friends. “That’s my mom’s name!”

 

“Oh, is it?”

 

Cat shook her head slightly and blinked to gain back her focus. Blue eyes a lighter shade than her son’s stared up at her with the same wonderment her son had. Finally, she had the young woman’s attention. Cat stood up straight and gritted her teeth. “Yes, that is _my_ name.” She jutted out her chin and cocked her hip with a hand in check. “Why would you name a _dog ‘Cat’_ anyway?”

 

To Cat’s amusement, the young woman now had to straighten herself to look Cat in the eyes while a lovely pink blush painted her cheeks. She gazed down at the girl whose glasses were still slightly to the side and had to remind herself that she was supposed to be intimidating the girl and not acting like a school girl.

 

“Oh, she’s actually not like this, at least not usually! When she first came in, she kept to herself and wouldn’t respond to anyone except me and my sister Alex – oh, she’s supposed to come in later with blueberry muffins! Those are my favorite, don’t you like them?” The young woman rambled on with a face that was now red and directed the last sentence at Carter.

 

Carter. Cat had to force herself to take her eyes off the young blonde to look at her son. She saw that her son’s face was slightly bewildered but had a slight smile on it while looking back at the young woman.

 

“Y-yeah. I think they’re pretty great. I like them a lot, too. But I like pancakes more.” He mumbled and quickly directed his attention back to the small puppy that was now laying on her back and playing with the young blonde’s hands that were in her lap.

 

“I like pancakes so much! And anything sweet really, but chocolate pecan pies are the best. Oh, that reminds me I have to see my mom this weekend. She makes the best pies in the universe – not that I would know all the pies in the universe, of course! Haha! That would take so long to eat and it’s not like I can fly to another planet or anything so how would I know, that’s just a figure of speech, you know- “

 

“Kiera!” Cat demanded the young woman’s attention back to her. She’d finally seen the name tag on the awful pink cardigan that had been covered by blond hair until now. How dare she not focus on the most powerful woman in the room? While the rambling had been somewhat… adorable – not that she would ever say that out loud – Cat Grant was on a mission, to get her son a furry companion and she wasn’t going to let a bubbly, pretty young blond owner of a dog pound to make her forget that. So she did what she usually did with employees and people that were beneath her and called Kara by another name to demand her attention and assert her power.

 

Kara’s face was now beet red as she jerked her head up to look at Cat, kneeling with her pink lips slightly parted and a rambunctious puppy playing with Carter in her lap. Cat felt her own cheeks warm at the view in front of her, willing herself not to think of Kara and herself in the same positions but within another setting and if feasible, with much less clothing. She fanned herself and blew out some air, momentarily forgetting where she was and who she was with. Who was she with again?

 

Oh Carter! She turned back to her son, hoping he hadn’t noticed anything out of order. She sighed when she saw Carter looking back and forth between her and Kara with awe written on his face. Wait a minute, awe? She couldn’t believe it when a sly smile, not unlike her own, appeared on Carter’s face.

 

“You know what, Kara? My mom actually bakes really well, too! I’m not sure if she can make a pie, but I love her chocolate chip cookies. Maybe you should join us sometime and you can try it out yourself!”

 

“ _Carter!_ ” Cat was shocked beyond belief. Carter was never so forward with anyone besides her, and even then it was a rare moment when he was. _Who was this girl?_ She thought to herself again. Who was she that she could make Cat speechless?  _Speechless._ Which she had never been since reaching adulthood. And who was she that she could put a silly grin on Carter’s face and talk as if they’d known each other for a lifetime?

 

“What, Mom? You know you’re a great baker,” Carter shrugged nonchalantly, and if not for the glint in his eyes, she would’ve thought it completely innocent. Carter picked up the puppy and brought it up to hide his smile. Cat had to fight off one of her own. She loved it when this side of Carter showed, and couldn’t help but feel so proud and happy that she’d raised this young man. Who seemed to have grown a backbone and a funny bone all of a sudden – all because of this blushing, rambling young woman _who was still kneeling in front of Cat_.

 

“Well, Carter’s right. I do make the best cookies. And I suppose, if _Carter_ wishes to invite you over, you could come by… tomorrow?” Cat brought her hand up and inspected her fingernails without really looking at them.

 

“Uhm, I… uh…”

 

“ _Well?_ Chop chop, Kiera. You might not know this but I am an extremely busy woman who has a lot more to do than just baking cookies for her son and his newly made friends. It would be nice if you could answer me within the next few seconds.”

 

“Yes!” The younger blonde exclaimed. “I mean, I think my co-worker, Winn could fill in for me. I’m not exactly the boss here, to be honest I’m just a volunteer, but I come in almost every day to help out. Plus, I love these little fellas so much so it’s not even a chore at all.”

 

“Fantastic. So you’re free at say… two in the afternoon? Carter has a science class to go to in the morning and it’ll take me a while to whip up the cookies. And if I’m right, little Cat here will be going home with us – hopefully with another name intact by then – which means we’ll need someone to help out with setting up her new living environment, and maybe afterwards, we could treat you to dinner. You know, for helping out, of course.”

 

Kara had a soft smile on her face now and she stood up slowly, making Cat the one who had to look up now, which displeased her.

 

“Of course.” Kara echoed, and she stepped forward. Cat was looking elsewhere, anywhere but at Kara, but snapped back to attention when Kara said the next few words. “And if I were to call it a date, and pay for it?”

 

“You could call it anything you want, but make no mistake, _I_ will be paying. I highly doubt you could afford dinner for three with whatever salary you’re on, if you do as you say and come here to help out every day. And like I said, we’d have to thank you for helping out.”

 

“Grants don’t take anything for granted.” A voice piped up behind the two women. Both of the women turned around to see Carter hugging little Cat to his chest with a cheeky grin on his face, and the puppy licking his face with pure happiness. Cat pursed her lips but couldn’t bite back the smile that inched on her face. At least it wasn’t a cat pun, and Carter had certainly inherited her knack for words. Kara laughed out loud, a delightful sound that warmed the hearts of the other two people in the room and little Cat immediately responded with a small bark.

 

Kara smiled down at Cat and grinned at Carter. “I see. I wouldn’t want to ruin a family motto. But to your earlier request, I do love the name Cat for little Cat here though… Would if help if she were to legally change her name to Kat with a K? After Katharine in ‘ _Working Girl_ ’?”

 

Cat rolled her eyes at the question but nodded her head once to show her agreement. She did love _Working Girl_ and the puppy did have a feline quality if she were as Kara had said, not warm to everyone as opposed to most puppies. But something suddenly occurred to her. _No, it couldn’t be._ A sly smile, similar to the one that had appeared on Carter’s face earlier inched on her own.

 

“You say she’s now legally named after Katharine Parker, huh? Could there be another reason she was originally named _Cat_? After someone else, maybe?”

 

At the redness that suddenly came rushing back to Kara’s face as she stammered, Cat had gotten her answer and she side-stepped to stand in front of Kara, their bodies almost touching, borderline inappropriate for public standards. Kara’s face was priceless as she tried to talk her way out of the mess. “ _Nuh, uh uh,_ ” Cat almost sang. “Don’t try to deny it, _Kara_.” She pressed her lips to Kara’s ear and felt the girl shiver.

 

A smile that could be said to look like a cat that ate a canary spread on to Cat’s face at her victory. Her son had gotten an adorable puppy he seemed to already love, and she, had snagged herself _a fan_. One that she was determined to thoroughly question and have unlimited fun with as to see how many ways the young girl’s face could turn as red as it was right now. After all, she was a Grant. This girl had just fallen into their laps. And Grants don’t take anything – or anyone - for granted.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this was supposed to be a very short story that would happen in a restaurant but the plot bunnies got ahold of me!!!!!! I finally understand what people mean when they say the story got out of hand (Do they say that?) but I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. It certainly shocked me, but I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!!!!!! A few things may be corrected if I find mistakes, and I'm completely open to any suggestions and opinions! Thanks so much for reading :)


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